The present embodiments to a method of control for a computing unit, wherein a basis image is captured by an image capture device and is communicated to the computing unit. The computing unit determines, by reference to the basis image, a gesture by a user of the computing unit. The computing unit determines an action that depends on the detected gesture, and the action is executed.
The present embodiments also relate in addition to a computer facility. The computer facility incorporates an image capture device, a display device and a computing unit. The computing unit is linked to the image capture device and to the display device for the purpose of exchanging items of data. A basis image is captured by the image capture device and is communicated to the computing unit. The computing unit determines, by reference to the basis image, a gesture of a user of the computing unit. The computing unit determines an action that depends on the detected gesture, and the action is executed.
Control methods of this type and computer facilities of this type are generally known. Purely by way of example, see WO 2011/085815 A1, US 2010/013764 A1, US 2011/029913 A1, US 2011/090147 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,834,847 B2.
Contactless interaction with computer facilities is a clear trend in the context of so-called natural input methods (NUI=Natural User Input). This applies both in information processing in general and also in particular in the medical field. Thus, contactless interaction is being used, for example, in operating theaters, in which the doctor performing the operation wishes to view operation-related images of the patient during the operation. In this case, for reasons of sterility, the operating doctor may not touch the usual interaction devices on the computer (e.g., a computer mouse, a keyboard or a touchscreen). It must nevertheless be possible to control the display device. In particular, it must be possible to control which image is shown on the display device. In general, it must also be possible to operate control buttons and the like on the display device.
A known approach is that someone other than the operating doctor operates the usual interaction facilities, on the basis of appropriate instructions from the doctor. This is unreliable, costs valuable time and often leads to communication problems between the operating doctor and the other person. Gesture control represents a valuable advantage. With gesture control, a so-called range image is generally determined (i.e. an image in which each point in an image which is per se two-dimensional has assigned to it in addition an item of data about the third direction in three-dimensional space). The capture and evaluation of such range images is known per se. Range images of this type may be captured, for example, by two normal cameras that together supply a stereoscopic image. Alternatively, it is possible to project a sinusoidally modulated pattern in the space and, by reference to distortions in the sinusoidally modulated pattern, to determine the range information.
For gesture recognition to work correctly, it is in many cases necessary that the relative position of the image capture device relative to the display device is known. In the state of the art, the absolute positions of the image capture device and the display device are therefore established beforehand. After this, a calibration operation is carried out, in which the relative position of the image capture device relative to the display device is determined. After this calibration, the relative position of the image capture device relative to the display device may then no longer be changed. In particular, a change in the relative position of the image capture device relative to the display device is not desired in ongoing operation.
The requirement that the relative position of the image capture device relative to the display device may no longer be changed after the calibration represents a significant restriction in practice. It is instead desirable to be able to change the relative position of the image capture device relative to the display device at any time—even in ongoing operation.
From WO2004/055 776 A1, a method of control for a computing unit is known. A basis image is captured by an image capture device and is communicated to the computing unit. The computing unit, by reference to the basis image, identifies a gesture by a user of the computing unit and determines an action that depends on the gesture identified. The action is carried out.